Sunday, March 31, 2013

According to a recent news post from gundam portal site Gundam.Info, they reported the life-sized 1/1 Scale Strike Freedom Bust, which is currently on display inside Gundam Front Tokyo (Diver City, Odaiba, Japan), is actually a full size 1/1 Scale Strike Freedom Gundam statue. Similiar to the 1/1 Scale RX-78-2 Gundam standing just outside of Gundam Front Tokyo, in front of Diver City shopping center. Gundam.Info goes as far as to mention the source of this news was from a reliable source. It is said that spectators can only view the upper torso, while the statue from waist down is hidden under the floor below.

Is this an April Fool's joke or real news?

Well, if you ask us. This is definitely an April fool joke. Anyone who has been to Gundam Front Tokyo knows that it is located on the 7th floor of Diver City shopping center. Why would anyone build a full size 1/1 scale Strike Freedom Gundam statue all the way up there, with hardly anyway to bring it to ground level without dismantling it first. It is just too inefficient. So we take this latest news post with a huge grain of salt.

According to the Gundam.Info's article, the 2nd half of the statue is allegedly hidden under the floor below (Speculation Image?) LOL...

The Kunio Okawara Exhibition will explore the secrets of Okawara’s design through 7 sections.

For the first time, original top-secret materials relating to the following shows will be displayed: “Science Ninja Team Gatchaman” – Okawara became the first person ever to be credited as “Mechanical Designer” for the show, “Mobile Suit Gundam” – the show that innovated Japanese Anime, and “Time Fighters” – an anime filled with humorous mechanical designs. With over 400 pieces of artwork and documents, the scale of the exhibition will be larger than ever. Also lined up is a signing session with Kunio Okawara, a commemorative interview between Iron and Steel Artist Kogoro Kurata and Animation Director Ryosuke Takahashi, and events for women and children.

Kunio Okawara was born in 1947. He studied textile design at Tokyo Zokei University and following graduation, worked as a fashion designer at the major apparel company Onward Kashiyama. In 1972, Okawara took a position at Tatsunoko Production, where he established the role of Anime robot designer and mechanical designer in Japan. In 1978, he left the production to work independently. He worked as a mechanical designer for “Science Ninja Team Gatchaman”, “Gowappa 5 Godam”, “Mobile Suit Gundam”, and lead the golden age of Robot Animes. The character Zaku’s design idea comes from a suit. Okawara currently continues to work on “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED” and “Ippatsu Hyaku-Chu! Devander”.